Changing Tides
by DezzyRei
Summary: Hikaru is dealing with a lot of stress brought on by many things. Friendships, high school, boys, and her past all interrupt her thoughts and keep her from moving on in life. The shippy stuff takes backseat to Hikaru though, but every ship will get a tease at least. Rated because I'm a potty mouth. And slight hints at sexual content I guess...?
1. Lazy river

This is my first story and I'll be working on it in my downtime. More info at the end. I hope you enjoy reading, review and stuff I guess. :I

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A year had passed already. A year since anything had happened and the cause of her stress was long gone. There was nothing to fear anymore right? Besides, she didn't use her bey for fun anymore, it was strictly for needed situations only. She didn't want to risk Aquario getting hurt too, even with Madoka to help fix it, she could never forgive herself for such a thing.

Upon looking up, the screen showed Gingka, happily waving to the crowd with his usual goofy smile. He could be so annoying sometimes, but that smile was the type that gave you hope. Without him, she would still be living in fear...

Even so, Gingka was still annoying and always so obsessed with beys and battling. They were in high school now and he still brought Pegasus to class. Did he really expect it to not be taken when he constantly insists on battling between classes? Aquario would stay safe in her pocket at all times, the little gift from her mother would remain precious forever, whether she used it or not. Gingka had Pegasus taken on almost a daily basis at school, lots of beys were taken for the day. The only time that a bey being taken ever stood out to her, was when Leone was taken. The look on Kyouya's face before he exploded with anger. That was a childish look, a look of sadness and fear. The image would never leave her mind, just seeing him slightly upset hurt her. Maybe she did like him, at least a little, but he was a real jerk sometimes, and that made her stay away.

Right now, she had a lot of options anyway. There was Hyoma, Tsubasa, hell, even Gingka or Benkei! But Kyouya? No, he wouldn't be all too interested anyway... Leone owned his heart, his best friend that he would cry over inside while on the outside he was ready to murder someone for. What was his story? His parents were alive, careless about him, but they were alive. It wasn't a gift from them that he cherished like her own Aquario. And those scars on his face... Did that have to do with it? She could remember a time when they turned in photos from their childhood to show how much they had changed, and she could remember how scar free his cheeks once were. Around 10, that's when he said he got them. How did she know? Asking. She felt awkward, and slightly like a bitch to ask, but her curiosity was driving her insane. He wouldn't give the whole story though, he just said something happened when he was 10, that's how he got them. In time they would heal to light, very light, pink scars on his face, barely noticeable. His face came to mind, how he looked without those scars on his cheeks, the smooth, undamaged skin...

"Hikaru? You feeling okay?" The voice was high pitched, coming from beneath her. She snapped from her thoughts to reality as she looked down to see a green haired boy looking up. "Yeah Kenta, I'm fine. I just have a lot of work to do okay? How'd you get back here anyway?" The boy seemed to light up at the question, his own question being answered and forgotten easily. "Ryo invited us back here! Gingka and him are gonna spend the day together and catch up, so he said we could all hang around the WBBA with you." He could be so cute... But he was a kid, all kids could be cute sometimes. Yu was much cuter all the time though. The nicknames were annoying, but she would never admit how much she adored him for it sometimes.

"Oh, it would have been nice for him to tell me..." Her voice sounded annoyed as she glared at the wall, not wanting Kenta to think she was mad at him. "He said that you would be expecting us... Are you sure you're okay Hikaru?" Kenta asked, looking up at the teenage girl, surprised for her to be so unfocused. "I told you, I'm fine. Go find the others, I have to do something. I'll see you later." With that she turned and started down the hall again, leaving Kenta with a rather confused look. "Well, alright Hikaru... See ya..." She had barely heard the young boy's words as she rushed down the hall. The day had just started for her and already she would be a hostess for Ryosuke while he went out and had a day of fun? There was work to be done still, how could he ignore that for his son? Wait, it was his son, how could he NOT ignore it? A small sigh escaped from her as she began to organize all the papers for her boss. It would be nice for when he got back to work.

"Knock knock?" The voice was different this time, more squeaky and overall annoying as hel-Madoka. Of course. "Come in, I'm just cleaning a bit." She answered, leaning up to fix her outfit again. "Kenta mentioned you zoning out, you feelin' alright?" My god, why couldn't people just shut up when you told them you were "okay"! Then again, talking about it with someone other than Ryosuke might help. Gingka's dad was cool and gave great advice, but there was always somethings she couldn't tell him. That was her boss, a much older man, and Gingka's DAD. It was just awkward. "There's just a lot on my mind, that's all." Madoka smiled and walked into the room, closing the door behind herself. "Well if you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears for ya." Her smile was warm too, just like Gingka's. Maybe it was a redhead thing? Well, Madoka was close enough to red for her to count it, right? Yeah, why not. "Well... It's guy trouble I gue-" "Ooooh! Who do you like?" The slightly younger girl was way too excited for this. That made sense though, it wasn't like there were many other girls to talk to. "W-we-well, no one really, not anyone in particular at leas-HEY! No! That has nothing to do with what I was gonna say. Alright maybe slightly, but no. Something happened before that still has me kind of shaken up, and I haven't been able to get passed it... I really want to move on, but I can't get by it. Just the thought of him drives me into insanity and I have flash backs... I really want to move on, just forget that it happened. All of it. But I can't and that's keeping me from even acting on any slight feelings I have."

Now the subject was clear. These guy problems weren't just trouble with boys, no, this was talking about what really happened between Hikaru and Ryuuga. First the tournament had scared her, but right before L Drago was released from his body, that evil in him still lived, and he did something unspeakable. That evil having taken something too precious from her that she would never get back. "Hikaru..." The hand on her shoulder was unexpected, she jumped from the touch. "Sorry!" Madoka was never sure of what she could and couldn't do with the other girl. Instead she grabbed a tissue box from Ryosuke's desk, pulled it open, handing one to the other girl. She motioned towards her eyes, trying to give a hint. Hikaru didn't even realize the tears that had slipped from her eyes. "Thanks..." She wiped away at her eyes, glad to not be wearing make up. "No problem... So, I guess that's why you don't like us getting too close, huh?" The question seemed unexpected from Madoka of all people. The girl was smart when it came to beys and computers, but she never seemed to pick up on emotion most the time. A simple nod was all she needed for the other girl to understand. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you don't hate me." "We're friends, I could never hate you. Sure you bug me sometimes, but you're like an annoying little sister that gets better grades than me." The two girls managed to smile and laugh a bit, lightening the mood. "Come on, we should get you cleaned up and changed, then we can all hang out!" Damn. Happy, smiley, Madoka was back. The serious one was better. "Yeah, just give me like 10 minutes." She still smiled back at the other girl as she left the room.

It took 15 minutes for Hikaru to change her clothes and clean her face off enough that no one would be able to tell she had cried. "Madoka! It's great to see you again!" This time the voice was loud and booming, Benkai. He gave her a giant goofy grin that she shook her head at. Madoka and Kenta waved at her while Yu, Masamune and Kyouya stood around doing nothing. "Momo, Hippity-hop! What's up?" Yu finally acknowledged the older girls with that impish smile of his and Masamune looked up now. She didn't like him, he was a Gingka fanboy that wanted to surpass his master. Such a childish goal. And then Mr. Dark and Depressing himself... Kyouya. Not even a hello! This is the exact jerk attitude that kept her from liking him. The nickname from Yu paled in comparison to the embarrassment she felt from not having Kyouya greet her. As she thought of all the times they had practiced and battled together, she noticed him look over from the corner of his eye and smile, a slight nod of the head. Alright, a shitty greeting, but a greeting none the less.

The group moved on, having argued over where to go for a while. They met up with Tsubasa who Yu practically stole the whole evening, not that anyone seemed to mind. They had broken into little groups of sorts. Benkei on Kyouya's arm, bugging him about this and that, Benkei being a proper little fanboy. Gan Gan Galaxy was all in a conversation about new opponents. And finally, Kenta and Madoka were talking about beys too. Was everything just beys with these people? Were their lives so perfect that beyblade was the only thing they had to worry about? No... She knew at least one person in that group that loved his bey lived to worry about more than just that. He loved Leone, probably with all his heart, but that didn't mean he wanted to talk about the creature 24/7. Benkei was going on and on while Kyouya just looked anywhere and everywhere. Those scars. How the hell did he end up with them?

Hikaru was silent and it only took a few minutes for Madoka to drag her into the conversation about beys with Kenta. It was actually nice to know that she could count on the younger girl to keep her from being left out. Even if she would have rather been working. Being around Kyouya was weird, being around all of them was weird to be honest. With high school added to the mix, beys, boys, and class seemed to be what most girls were talking about now. Hikaru was getting annoyed by it. Being friends with guys was fine, just because you went into a higher grade, suddenly it was forbidden to be friends? She would find someone when she wanted them, but guys didn't matter in a romantic sense right now. Besides, the only way any guy would be worthy of anything romantic would be if he could hold his own in a battle! Oh damn, beys were more important to her than she had realized. With a shake of her head she snapped back to reality again. "Don't ya think so Hikaru?" Wait, what did Kenta just ask about? "Huh?" "See, it doesn't make any sense!" What were these two talking about? "No, no, I zoned out, what did you say first?" She cut off Kenta before he could argue back, which was good, arguing was bad among friends. "I was saying, if a defense type bey had the attack disk of an attack type, would it still count as a defense type bey?" Hikaru stayed silent a moment thinking about it. "I think I agree with Madoka. That doesn't make any." Kenta went to defending his point and trying to explain, but the girls had tuned him out and he gave up, choosing to just pout instead.

"Look! There it is! Let's go you guys, you're taking forever!" She hadn't even noticed how far ahead the others had gotten. Maybe Kenta and Madoka just walked slow and she had matched her pace to theirs? "Calm down will ya! It's not like the food is going anywhere! Jeez." Kenta and Benkei went back and forth so often it didn't even count as arguing anymore. Gan Gan Galaxy, Kyouya and Benkei waited for them up ahead. "Come on, let's go eat already, I'm starving!" Benkei practically ran into the shop, grabbing a table that would be big enough for everyone.

"Hey Benkei, you can tone it down. It isn't like this place is gonna be leaving anytime soon, especially with how much time and money you spend here." "Aw, but Kyouya..." "I don't wanna hear it. You're starting to annoy me with how loud you're being." Kyouya's voice was neutral, but he was speaking for the rest of the group. They wouldn't speak up about it, but sometimes that bull-boy was just too loud for them, too loud and slightly obnoxious. Silently, the group thanked Kyouya for taming the bull enough for them to look around where they would be seated. The table was round, Benkei taking the seat closest to the door, Kyouya had sat first and Benkai moved to be at his right. Next to him sat Yu, Tsubasa, Masamune, Kenta, Hikaru, and Madoka kept her from being directly beside Kyouya. Having the younger girl looking out for her seemed to just get better. Even if she hadn't flat out said what was on her mind, the other girl was able to understand that Kyouya was part of the problem.

They sat quietly for a moment, no one really knew what to say once Kyouya shut Benkai up. "Soo... What are you guys thinking of having?" Alright, maybe Madoka really wasn't so bad. She seemed more dependable to get over awkward situations. Those damn happy attitudes. Hikaru wouldn't be surprised if she and Gingka ended up together, they made a good match personality wise. She was fairly grounded and smart about everything, while Gingka was a dreamer that was strong and they were both positive almost always and trying to resolve things. They just seemed to compliment one another. Hikaru on the other hand... She felt strong enough to stand on her own and not worry about anything, she could focus on work most of the time and just stay away from beyblading, just work behind the scenes and her life would be happy. She didn't really need a guy in her life. But if she did have one, just to have one... He couldn't be a super happy person like many of her friends. They were just too cheery all the time and she needed a nice moment of quiet sometimes. She would also want someone strong like Gingka was, his level of confidence was his single attractive trait to her. But no one was like that. Quiet, calm, strong, but able to control it and completely confident in their abilities? No guy would meet her expectations.

The whole time Hikaru was thinking, zoned out looking at her menu, the rest of the group spoke about what they would have. "-na get Hikaru?" Once again the small voice broke her free from her thoughts and she looked at Kenta. What did he ask? Man, this kid and his half understood questions. Okay, what would make sense in the moment? "Oh, um, just a sandwich. I'm not really all that hungry. I'd be fine with a simple turkey and cheese club." She shrugged, shaking away her thoughts. "That actually sounds good too... Man! Why are there so many things to eat in this place! I can't decide if I love it or hate it!" "Benkei! Quiet down!" Kyouya snapped, making the larger boy scratch at his neck nervously.

Huh... Calm... Strong... Confident... Maybe Kyouya was more fitting for her than she had thought? It was always just a small crush, but every girl and their cousin had a crush on Kyouya. I mean, just look at him! Well toned, tough guy, mean but nice when you get to know him, strong, a top notch blader, just... What wasn't to like? His hair? Okay, maybe that could be fixed a bit, but that was very small compared to the rest of him. Even his eyes were amazing, deep forest green that would catch the light nicel-wait is he staring at her?

In a moment Hikaru could feel her face flush red as she turned away from him and looked back down at her menu. How could she let that happen? Was he still looking? She dared and glance up and noticed that smirk of his, and, oh god, and his little fangs. She swore he had to have filed or capped them, no way those were his natural canines. "See anything you like Hikaru?" He teased slightly, leaning forward to look around Madoka. "I've already got an idea of what I want. Just not too sure about it in the long run..." She grumbled back, making the boy shake his head. Wait... Was he just flirting? Damn, he was totally flirting. Did that response give away too much, too little? Why did this even matter now!

The waiter came over to their table and the group placed their orders, the slight tension between the WBBA secretary and the leader of Team Outback seemed to fizzle out as the group began to discuss what they had been up to. The teams were going well it seemed, Africa was doing great according to Kyouya and the secret Masked Bull. Honestly, if they thought for even a moment that they didn't know that was Benkei they would have to be complete morons. "We're still totally gonna kick your butts and I'll prove that I'm the best blader alive!" Masamune. Hikaru couldn't help the glare she shot in his direction. Even if she never said it, it was clear that she disliked the young-Gingka wannabe. He was even more annoying than Gingka himself, what had he been doing the whole time anyway? Was he living under a rock to have not heard any of what was happening? Where was he that word about the best bladers took so long to reach him? He was just some numbskull idiot that got lucky with beys. That's all, he probably didn't even work at it like the others, just some jerk that landed a sweet bey like Ryuu-... The color drained from her face and she stood, ready to walk away from the table.

Finally she understood why she didn't like the boy. He reminded her of Ryuuga. That bit of red in his hair, that cocky attitude, the way he wanted to defeat Gingka and be the best, that undeserved sense of self. Maybe those were small, but in her terrified mind, that was enough. She planned to just leave the table without a word, but her suddenly standing caused some of the group to worry. "Hey Hikar-" "I'm just gonna get some air." She cut off the loud bull before another word could be spoken and went to the doors. Deep, calming breaths keep her from having a break down, emotional or nervous. After sitting alone against the building for a moment, the doors opened and she heard footsteps coming near her. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, Madoka." "Well she sure was concerned, but I had a feeling you were tired of talking to her. She's been clinging to you a bit more lately. Ever since you started working for Gingka's dad." The voice caught her off guard and she stood quickly. "What are you doing out here Kyouya?" "Isn't it obvious?" "The fact that I had to ask should answer your question." She shot back, slightly annoyed. "Alright, relax, you're not mad at me, you're mad at something else. Or are ya mad at me?" He had lifted his hands to show that he meant no harm and raised his brow on the last part of his sentence.

"... No. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad about what happened last year, at the finals... You know, the whole hospital thing." It was actually easier to speak to him about the feeling of being defeated. He experienced it as well, she even spoke to Tsubasa about it. "Oh. I get it. The whole Ryuuga thing, yeah, it sucked, but we have to move on. He's out of the picture now and we've got nothing to worry about." He shrugged, uncaring. This made the girl stare at him which quickly switched to a glare. "How can you be so relaxed about it? No way that whole ordeal was nothing to you!" "HEY! I can hold my own no matter what's thrown at me and you're pretty tough, so I know you can handle it too!" He snapped. Voices had been raised, tempers flared. Hikaru just stayed glaring at the boy for another minute, silence between them and making the air thick with tension. "You know what... I don't need to deal with this. I have things I could be doing than dealing with YOU." In another moment she was walking away from him, still angry, upset, her anger and fear being much easier to let out misguided at the green haired boy.

As she passed though, Kyouya grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "You're not going anywhere. Our friends are really worried about you and if you leave, you're gonna ruin everyone's good feeling. Do you really wanna do that?" He returned the glare, still holding onto her wrist. Once again they stood in silence. Finally she pulled her wrist free and began to walk towards the doors. "I'm doing this for them. So don't get any ideas. Stay out of my way Kyouya, I don't need to deal with your attitude problems too." As the girl walked into the building, Kyouya bared his teeth, a low growl. How dare she, how DARE she? He waited a minute to relax himself, even his breathing, before following after her.

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So yeah... To people that don't know, I was pretty much pressured into this by Phantom-San. If you're hear then you may have read some of her work already. I normally stick to doing artsy stuff for her stories and to make her happy, but I decided to show her how I do fanfic and slash pairings.

This story is pretty much gonna be Hikaru going through some emotional trauma do to something pretty obvious in the subtext of... Well everything, I tried to make the past issue with Ryuuga fairly obvious. :I If you don't get it then I will just spell it out for you eventually, but for a long time. I really want to focus on Hikaru since she's my love and I feel like she deserves more attention as being a STRONG female character rather than a weak one as I've seen many of you write in already. She's going to have some love interests, I'm going to have each of the boys she's normally paired with show up, but a majority of it will just be her dealing with her mind until the big step that shows the pairing for this story. I mean, I already start out with Kyouya, but I"m gonna tease all the pairings and have Hikaru push them away to clear her mind. She's dealing with a lot bros, she can't have a boy mucking up her mind as well! I have reasons for what I do.

Also, my writing style overall. I kind of jump around from me writing to hearing the character's thoughts as well, hopefully this is easy to follow, but if not I will go back in and edit things so that ya know, thoughts or in italics for clarification. Each of the stories are fairly long. I'm not sure if that's enjoyed or hated on here? I've seen a lot of short, multi-chaptered stories, and some longer, fewer chaptered stories. Not sure which is better. I'm actually doing both. I have a lot going into this and as such, it's going to be long entries, and a good deal of chapters. I plan on having it be a between-episodes-and-after-the-end-sort of things.


	2. Tensions rising

Thank you all for reading chapter one and still being interested in a chapter two! Let's start off with some replies to reviews. I don't expect to have many, so this should be easy to do.

dreamlily: Thank you very much ^^; I used to write back when I was 13, but those were all pretty bad. I only got into these lately because a friend at school.  
I can see what you mean about the chapter things, a short chapter can still be well written, and a long chapter can be full of nothing. I think I'll try to keep a 3000 word minumum and 4500 max. Seem like a decent area to fit things into.

BloodyAngerl01: Thanks, I pride myself and being able to keep things canon seeming. I don't want anything to seem OOC so I try to get into the character's head and figure out how they work. Ha, maybe I should step back from analyzing cartoon characters.  
I'm hoping to write a few little stories focusing around Hikaru after this one is done. I really need her and the other ladies of the Beyblade Metal Saga to get more attention.

phantom-san: You used a double negative. "Didn't not" therefore you admit to pushing me into this. I'm glad you like it though. Lucky you, you get inside info about my plans, but don't you go spoiling things for others!

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Lunch had gone great, the group had enjoyed their food and the rest of the meal went smoothly. Hikaru pushed aside her thoughts and had fun with the few friends she had, she and Kyouya pushed aside the earlier fight and played nice for everyone. Sure the two were annoyed with one another, even if Hikaru was only doing it to keep him from getting close, Kyouya didn't know that and figured the girl was just being moody. Girls were moody sometimes, right? Madoka had her moments, so of course Hikaru would have some.

"You guys wanna head anywhere else?" Once again it was Madoka breaking the awkward silence that had erupted among the group. "Oh, oh, I know! I know! We should totally go and have a super battle! I need to prove to Kenchi and Ben Ben that I'm still a top blader." Oh jeez, Yu and his adorable little nicknames, wanting to battle again. Hikaru found herself smiling at him and the thought of watching everyone battle. "I don't really know... Maybe we shouldn't have battles just for fun against the competition." Tsubasa's even voice spoke against the idea. "Aww, come on! It'll be AWESOME!" Yu loved group battles for whatever reason, maybe he felt like he had the advantage because of Libra's special sand trap, the exact move that worked against her.

The boys got together to battle, it would be on flat ground because they didn't want to walk very far just to get a little stadium, they would be fine without one anyway. Madoka and Hikaru sat off to the side, neither of them used their bey to battle really, they just kind of waited for the others now. The two were watching as everyone readied themselves, then they noticed one of the boys was missing. "May I join you ladies?" "Uh, sure Tsubasa, I don't see why not." Madoka smiled up at the boy as he sat between the girls. "Why aren't you battling?" Hikaru questioned, knowing that Tsubasa still enjoyed battling even after the little issues he had gone through. A small part of her was scared of him actually, he didn't know, only the director knew because he had seen her breakdown over it. "I would rather not battle right now, it just doesn't seem to make any sense to me. I don't want to waste my time on a battle that will also waste my energy." He shrugged slightly.

Now the three sat as the others began to battle, all seeming to enjoy themselves. Watching her friends battle made Hikaru miss it, the thrill of a battle and fighting your hardest to win. A battle was only ever quick if she won quickly, other wise it would be a good fight. It had been that way since her mother died, she was using battling to avoid feeling hurt or lonely with her mom gone. Battles had become her safe haven. If she started to miss her mom, she could grab Aquario and find someone to battle, then she wouldn't feel as bad. That was years ago though, and the competition was getting harder again. Then Ryuuga happened. He even said he would finish her off quickly as a reward, because she stood her ground. That was a lesson learned. If you know you're about to battle someone that has never lost, don't try to fucking win. Back down, don't be a fool and risk your sanity. If you try to stand up against an unbeatable force, you're going to get pushed down quickly and painfully. Leave the standing to someone that isn't terrified on the inside, someone that can actually win.

She sighed and looked away from the group. Madoka looked at her curiously. "Hikaru... You wanna go somewhere else while the guys battle? Maybe we should go shopping or something, Tsubasa could come along to carry anything for us!" "Wait, what?" Tsubasa was more confused than Hikaru was. "No, we should wait for them to finish, they'll probably get mad and think we ditched them." Hikaru looked over at the younger girl who pouted. "Come on, they won't care. They'll probably take a long time to get a winner, with how strong everyone has gotten and since none of them will just back down, it'll totally take forever! Please?" She tried to give Hikaru the cutest face she could until the older girl let out a puff of breath and stood. "Fine, we'll go somewhere else." "Do I still need to come along, really?" Madoka was in the middle of grabbing Hikaru's arm when they remembered the boy. "Yeah, you should totally come along! It'll be much more fun than sitting around here." He stood up and joined the girls, Madoka now clinging onto Hikaru's arm with a grin.

The trio left the battling boys silently, none of them even glanced in their direction. Now they were in the town again, it was still close by the others so when they finished it wouldn't be hard to find them. "How has working at the WBBA been?" The question was sudden, and Hikaru wasn't expecting it from Tsubasa. "Oh, nothing too knew really. It's kind of doing the same thing all the time. The Director will come up with something and I'll take care of the details and getting the word out. I don't want to say he's just a figure head, but that is kind of it. He comes up with the ideas, I do all the work to make them happen." He smiled. "I kind of expected something like that from a personality like his. Always a dreamer, it's clear where Gingka gets it's from." That much was clear, Gingka was pretty much a little copy of Ryosuke. Right down to the clothing! At least Ryo gave up the look for his son and put on some adult clothing, but honestly, Gingka was obsessed with his father. He probably had a lot of "daddy issues" actually.

"He's a great guy, really nice and fun, but he's not that mature. It's his best and worst tribute. Great because he's still a big kid that makes fun things happen for bladers, but terrible because he can't actually do anything without paper work. And he's not really a fan of paper work in the least." "It's a good thing you're their then, huh?" "Hey guys, can we go in here? It looks like I can find some extra parts I could probably spruce up!" Madoka had stopped in front of a little shop a few feet back, the two had been into their conversation to notice her pause to look through the windows. They turned around to join her and went into the store. "Then all the work has been able to keep your mind of things, right?" She looked up at him confused, her eyes narrowed slightly. "You know... Last year, how are you healing?" Oh, he did know about that then. It wasn't a well known thing, very few of them in the circle knew, clearly Kyouya and Benkei were clueless to it. Madoka, Kenta, Gingka, and Yu knew about it, so it wasn't too surprising that Tsubasa knew too, but he was in the hospital with her at the time, so she wasn't completely sure if he had heard from the others.

An awkward silence passed as Hikaru gathered her thoughts. "I... Things have been hard, but it's been a year. I should be over it already." A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder and it took everything she had not to pull away and run. "It's okay to still hurt over it. Take your time, no one is rushing you and it doesn't make you any less if it takes time. It's not like a cut, or even a physical scar, it's much deeper than that and it's okay to take a longer time to get better. Don't stress yourself." "You don't understand though... It isn't just like something I can take medicine for, nothing I do will make it better and it'll always be in my head. I can't even be around a boy without worrying that something will go wrong at any moment. Even with you guys, I still don't feel safe..." It was a bit hard to admit the last part, but Tsubasa took his hand away, and now her shoulder missed the warmth. "That's okay too. We all dealt with him, so we probably bring up the memories as well. It can't be helped." This was why she liked talking to Tsubasa, he made it seem like everything was alright, nothing in the world would stay bad forever and that everything would be better one day.

She nodded at the taller boy and looked over to Madoka. "Thanks for understanding. Lately, I can only be around the Director or Madoka... Well, Kenta and Yu seem harmless, I've actually gotten kind of attached to them, they just manage to cheer me up most the time. But every other guy makes me worry and my skin crawls." "I take it that means me as well?" How could his voice always stay so monotone? Even when she just told him that he made her skin crawl without flat out saying it! "Kind of... But it's something that can't be helped." He looked away from the girl and down at his feet. "Well, I'd like to change that. Maybe, we could hang out sometime and get to know each other better?" Hikaru's attention snapped to the boy. "Tsu... Tsubasa, are you asking me out? Like on a date?" She just looked at him, waiting for an answer. "Only if you're not too busy." He shrugged easily, as though the answer wouldn't really affect him. "Um, I'm sorry Tsubasa, but... I really can't deal with something like that right now. I guess we could still hang out like this, but nothing like a real date." Hikaru didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings, she was trying her best to not shoot him down like a hunter would a bird. "That's okay too. Even if we just stay friends, I'd like to help you." Tsubasa smiled all the same.

"Hey guys! Come check this out! has a whole box full of old bey parts, there's all kinds in here!" Madoka called for them excitedly as she rummaged through a shoebox full various parts. The pair dropped their conversation and walked over to her. They spent a while longer picking out parts that looked like they could be useful until Madoka decided the whole box would be useful and bought it. Tsubasa carried it for her as they walked back to the group, having spent a good deal of time wandering around. The trio was greeted by the boys all laying on grass, relaxing and getting their energy back.

Tsubasa smirked. "See, now you're gonna be too tired for our battle tomorrow. I guess only Gingka and I need to win, but it would be better if we had either of you to put up a fight." He teased the other members of Gan Gan Galaxy, earning a pout and raspberry from Yu. "Hey, it was actually really good to get a warm up battle in." He stayed pouting anyway, still laying back in the grass. "Yeah, and I almost won, but they had to cheat and team up against me." Masamune cut in, making a few of the others roll their eyes. "No one cheated, you got careless paying attention to fighting Yu and made an easy target." Kenta grinned and stuck his tongue out. He was the one to knock the boy's bey out of the battle, Masamune had been hellbent on defeating Yu to prove that he was better, but Kenta cut in and took Masamune out. He then proceeded to try and knock out Libra on his own, but the Benkei jumped in and Kyouya took them both out fairly easy from there. Yu and Kyouya were the final two, but Libra was already weak while Leon was fighting at his fullest. Once the smaller clashing was out, the battle ended quickly.

The trio was filled in about how the battle went, Benkei talking up Kyouya's attacks and making it sound much better than it was, even if he was taken out by the very boy he was talking about. "Where did you guys go anyway?" Kyouya looked over at Hikaru as he asked, wondering if she had gotten over her mood from before. "Oh, we were gonna go to the shopping center, but then I found this neat little shop. Check out what I bought!" She took the box from Tsubasa who gladly let her take it back, and pulled off the cover. "See? I got enough parts to mismatch for years!" She grinned proudly over the new additions to her group. "Wow! That's great Madoka, mind if we see a few and try to spruce up our beys?" "Kenta, come on, didn't you learn your lesson before? You and Benkei still owe me some of those peices you couldn't find in the water." At that Kenta and Benkei looked away from the girl, putting their hands in their lap, defeated.

"What'd you two do?" Again, Kyouya looked at Hikaru and then glanced over at Tsubasa. "We talked. Why, I can't talk to people now?" She glared at the boy who glared back. "Yes, when Madoka was talking to the shop owner, Hikaru and I spoke about how things are going at the WBBA." Even with Tsubasa's half lie, Kyouya and Hikaru glared daggers at each other. "Whatever, next time you should try to find somethin'. Instead of just standing around like body guards." He scoffed at the other boy and put his arms behind his head to relax. "Let's go Benkei, we gotta get back to Nile and Demure'." Benkei looked over at the other boy and sighed. "Alright, we'll see you guys later. Today was really fun." He grinned at the group and began following Kyouya. "... You two fighting' or somethin', Kyouya?" With the others out of earshot, he looked down at the boy. "No, she's just being real coy and shit. She got snippy with me before and now she's going around with Tsubasa? It's just stupid." He grumbled, his eyes closed carelessly. "Kyouya, that kinda sounds like you're jealous of Tsub-" "I'm NOT jealous of anyone!" Kyouya snapped, cutting the larger boy off. "Alright already, don't bite my head off. So defensive..." "Shut up Benkei!" Kyouya snapped, his hands balled into fists at his side now as he glared up at the boy. Benkei stayed quiet, knowing not to push the short boy further.

The group all stood around, watching the two off when they left and hearing Kyouya's faint shouts in the distance. "So, now what?" Kenta asked, looking at everyone. "I guess we all go back, it's starting to get dark out now. Gingka's probably waiting for us now." Madoka shrugged. "If they're done then The Director is probably waiting for me back at the office." Hikaru smiled at the group. "Benkei's right, today was pretty fun." Madoka smiled at the other girl, glad to see she did have fun with the group. Tsubasa smirked to himself slightly until Hikaru looked over at him and his expression returned to the small smile. "I guess I'll head back now." "We'll walk with you Hippity-Hop! It'll be fun! I barely got to talk to you all day anyway." Yu walked over and grabbed her hand, leading her along. "A-alright I guess." She laughed slightly as the younger boy pulled her forward. Yu and Kenta were still her favorites of the group, they were the least harmful and she had a soft spot for kids.

Now Yu dominated the conversation with Madoka, asking all about working at the WBBA and Gingka's dad. She told him the same things she had Tsubasa, it wasn't anything new. Yu just wanted more specific details about how much paperwork she had to do and then got bored after a few minutes of explaining the process. Instead she asked him how he was liking the tournaments. "It's great! Even if I don't get to battle all the time, I still get to see everyone else and it's so awesome!" "Yeah, he's just a sub on the team, didn't even earn a full spot." Masumune began to speak but Hikaru glared over at him. "Did I ask how you were enjoying things? No. Stay out of my conversations if you aren't brought into them." Her tone was short and cold, but effective as Masumune lowered his head and looked off to the side, not wanting to embarrass himself further. Hikaru looked back to Yu with a smile.

The rest of the group looked at her surprised. They all knew Hikaru could be mean, but she had mellowed out a lot since she stopped battling. Still, when people got on her nerves, she made it a point to let them know. Maybe Masamune couldn't help the things he had in common with Ryuuga, but even that aside, he was still the biggest douche bag she'd ever met. "Uh... So yeah, I've been able to go around with the team still and everything... Wow Hikaru..." Yu was still holding onto her hand, looking up at her surprised. She giggled a bit and pat his head with her free hand. "At least you're having some fun with everyone." The group walked along in silence after that, not even Madoka was sure what could be said to ease the tension in the air. Eventually they arrived at the WBBA and she let go of Yu's hand. "Bye guys, it was nice catching up, I gotta go check on the Director now." The group said their goodbyes and left, but Tsubasa hung back for a moment.

"Here. Send me a message and we can set up a time to hang out." He handed Hikaru a paper and she looked down at it before slipping it into her pocket. "You know it's not a date, right?" She raised a brow at him. "I know, just two friends, hanging out and getting to know each other. Just a friend making sure the other is alright." He smiled and nodded. "Bye Hikaru." With that he ran off to join the others and she could see Yu grab onto his hand now. Those two had gotten closer and closer since the Dark Nebula was out of the picture.

Hikaru went inside the building and found Ryosuke asleep at his desk, pen in his hand. She sighed and woke the man up, telling him to go home and rest. He began to protest but when another yawn escaped, he nodded and began to walk out the office. "Oh, Gingka wanted me to tell you something... I'll remember tomorrow. Have a good night Hikaru." "You too, good night Director..." She watched him leave and then began to lock up the office, a routine she was used to. Working with Ryosuke, she felt more like the adult most the time.

* * *

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I know, I know, already sailing two ships in the background. The S.S. HiKyouya and the S.S. Hikasa (I totally just made those up, sorry, sorry.) I like setting multiple ships sailing to see which ones will float and which will sink! So expect a lot of shipping to happen in between getting into Hikaru's mind as she works through problems.  
I need to plan more in depth for chapter three since I'm not too sure how it will all play out. She's got Tsubasa hitting on her, Kyouya jealous, and Yu and Momoka acting like younger siblings. Chapter 3 will focus on introducing another character that people may just go "wut?" to, but hey. I wear my shipping goggles every minute of every day.  
Will update within the week and be sure to review! When I get those they make me happy and want to work more, since I know someone is actually reading my story and enjoys it.


	3. Approaching rapids

Heh, I ended up dreaming up a bit of this after showing my Freshman a sketch I did for this on the train a while ago. I really like how the sketch turned out and I may upload it. Also, sorry if this new shippy moment makes anyone feel uncomfortable. Although, if you happen to really enjoy this chapter's introduced ship, I'll be writing another story for it entirely. Since I really love the ship... Actually, I'll probably do a bunch of femslash for this fandom, seeing as there is clearly not enough. :I

On to last chapter stuff. So thanks for reading and everything, I hope you guys are enjoying the story still. Sorry that I'm not very active with like PMs or forums, I don't know too much about this site so I'm still trying to get comfortable. So far everyone has been nothing but nice.

BloodyAngel01: Thanks, and shipping goggles are just... Like, a metaphorical pair of goggles worn 24/7 that makes everyone a couple. Regardless of anything and everything.

Lullaby16: Heh, thanks. You'll see what I've got planned for the couples. Since I'm going through like... Everyone and pointing out the pros and cons from Hikaru's point of view, we'll see what happens. Chapter one she admitted a crush on Kyouya, but chapter two was spent with Tsubasa flirting with her and asking her out. Now Chapter three is introducing a new ship. This whole story is a giant-internal-shipping war...

dreamlily: I figured that Ryuusei does like... Nothing and is just a bigger and less mature version of Gingka while Hikaru is the adult actually making things happen, it just makes sense to me by what the show actually shows of them. We see a glimmer of mature Ryo and then he's a big kid any other time. As for the "mistake"... Why is that a mistake? I've seen this in many places and I really like the way it flows. Maybe because I normally stick to comics or rps it's no issue for me, but I've seen it in books as well. The way I write jumps around a lot and it takes a few reads for people that don't know me to understand.  
The character for this chapter will catch nearly everyone off guard... Also, nice to see another multishipper! *highfives*

Phantom-san: (She PM'd me because wasn't letting her review again for whatever reason. Anyway,) watch you're typing, GINGKA'S the one I said has daddy issues, not Kyouya. Jeez, that boy is just always on your mind huh? She also said I put a lot of my own head canon into writing, which is true, since I feel like that's part of why we write these. To get our head canons into the world for other to view and agree or disagree! :D

* * *

A week had gone by since Tsubasa and Hikaru went out, not a date still. He came by the WBBA and took her to lunch, then after lunch they spent most of the day talking. Tsubasa really was worried about her, that much was clear. He wasn't overly concerned with her, and she was glad for that, if he had been too nosy, she would have ended up blocking him out to escape. He seemed to know the right amount of questions and time to let the girl get comfortable.

Hikaru was just glad to have someone she could talk to about all her thoughts, months on end of worrying over what happened that night after her last battle at Battle Bladers. Bottling everything up inside her with only few details being said when Ryuusei tried to help, but there would always be that wall between the two. A professional boundary that kept her from speaking freely and him from asking, regardless how concerned for her well being he was.

The two spent most of the day in the park, sitting in the shade of the trees while they spoke. Actually, Hikaru did most of the speaking and was able to clear her mind after. Her father couldn't afford actual therapist for her, and he didn't believe in "any of that shrink nonsense anyway." So Hikaru got used to staying quiet and fighting her memories alone, keeping them in her head and having no one to free them to. Work was the only way she had been escaping it lately, that's why she worked so much harder than Ryuusei, not only because he needed the help, but because she needed the escape. If she focused on work, her own memories couldn't haunt her. She made sure to pay attention to the future only and tried to never look into the past.

For her, the day was a perfect escape and a load off her chest. Tsubasa had listened patiently and knew when to comment and when to keep his mouth shut, asking questions here and there. He even made some terrible jokes to try and cheer her up when Hikaru started to back away from speaking.

But now she was home, laying in her room and wondering what he thought of the day. "He probably thinks I'm just some stupid, whiny, loser, just looking for attention." She leaned up and sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea to talk to one of the guys like that. I should have just waited for Madoka to get closer and then I could go to her." Her fist slammed into the bed. "No, that's just as bad! Then I'd have to lean on Madoka for everything." Looking at the messed up spread, Hikaru quickly fixed the bed to it's proper glory.

She stood and went over to her desk, starting her computer and waiting for the greeting from the machine. Things like that made her glad that she knew Madoka, even before the girl's personality grew on her. A friend that could customize and pimp out pretty much any machine you owned? Good friend you don't want to lose. The screen flicked on, a beach shown as her background before she opened up her email.

A flashing light on the side caught her attention. "Work? But... Ryo said..." Her hand moved over to the offending icon and she clicked, the paper opening across the screen.

_"Hey Hikaru,_

_I know I said today would be a day off since all the teams are training and we don't have anything to set up for, thanks to your amazing planning ahead-good job on that by the way!-but... We have the Chinese reps here for the day and we kind of need some to show them around. Now normally I would do something like this, but I already have prior plans and won't be able to. _

_Please come into work as soon as you can, and sorry for cutting in on your day._

_The Immortal Phoenix!"_

Reading the letter brought a small sigh out of the girl. It was good she hadn't made plans it seemed, otherwise she would be calling to cancel on them now. Instead, she pulled off the plain black t-shirt she wore and threw it into the hamper, grabbing a white blouse off a hanger from her closet. If she had to go in to work, she would need to look respectable, and some plain clothes were not the way. Slipping out of the denim shorts, she tossed them into the hamper as well and grabbed a skirt and matching blazer. It was practically needed already, to wear an outfit like what she was now. It just made more sense to her, and The Immo-... The Director, wore a suit as well. She had to be mature about it too.

"Dad, I'm leaving now. I'll be back before sun down." She called into the house when she got to the door. "I thought you had the day off..." Her father looked out from the kitchen, he was dressed for work as well, but his job wasn't exactly suit required. He did construction work. "I did too, but my boss emailed me and I need to give a tour to some visitors... But, I should still be home when you get off work, so I'll make us something to eat." She smiled, hoping he wouldn't be too sad over it.

It was her day off, her plans consisted of staying home and fixing up the house a little, then making a nice dinner to share with her dad. Her family had been very close when her mother was alive, but after she died, Hikaru found herself battling more and her dad worked more. He had already taken on another job when her mom was in the hospital, trying to get money to pay for her treatments, but now the two could live off his one job. "Alright, just make sure you're safe." He nodded once and turned his attention back to his bowl of cereal. "Of course, bye Dad."

Now it was just a short walk back to work and then meeting the Chinese bladers. She had seen them battle and already knew who they were, but she had yet to meet them. A small hint of nervousness made her scratch at her neck. What if they had no idea who she was? Or worse, what if they just knew her from being that girl that lost the first round of Battle Bladers to Ryuuga? No, she was being ridiculous. Sure the battles were huge, but her's so quick, no one would have bothered to remember it, Gingka's final battle made sure no one would remember hers.

Swallowing her fears, Hikaru walked into the doors of the WBBA to see the four standing there waiting for her. "Ah! Here she is! Team Wang Fu Zhong, meet Hikaru Hasama, she'll be giving you guys a tour of the WBBA as well as the city." City? That wasn't usually what her tours included, just showing them around the building and them having lunch with them in the break room. "Excuse me, sir?" She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down closer to her level. "Director, this was very short notice and I can't spend my entire day with them. I need to be home before dark." "Oh Hikaru, you'll be long finished by then. No worries." He pat her head and leaned up, leaving her glaring at the action.

"So! Hikaru will be showing you all around, now I have to run and do something. Enjoy your visit to Japan!" With that, the director was out the door, leaving the five kids behind, unsure of what should be said now. Hikaru cleared her throat. "It's nice to meet you, Team Wang Fu Zhong. I've heard good things about you all." She smiled politely. The first one to walk over was the girl. "I'm Mei Mei, nice to greet you." "That should be _meet_ you, Mei Mei. I'm Chi-Yun Li." Was he... Just short or a kid. Hikaru could feel herself being conflicted about whether she should want to pinch his cheeks and call him adorable, or treat him respectably like they were the same age. "I'm Da Xiang, and this is Chao Xin." He motioned over to the other boy who was quiet and looking off towards a wall. Well, he didn't seem the talkative type...

Hikaru smiled at the group. "I'll begin the tour now, if you guys have any questions or would like to see anything in particular, feel free to ask." With that she began to lead the group around the WBBA, having the tour lines memorized perfectly but always making sure it didn't sound boring. "Sorry, Hikaru... We don't really care about seeing this." The one to speak up was Mei Mei. "Honestly, we were more hoping to see Japan and the places here!" She was smiling brightly at the blue haired girl. "Do... All of you feel that way?" Hikaru looked at the boys, who nodded more or less. With a small shrug, she turned around. "I guess that's alright... The Director did say he wanted me to show you around Japan as well."

They walked back out the building quietly and Hikaru began to lead them around Japan, keeping a tab on the time. After 2 hours of walking around, she had showed them all the places she could think of that were important. But it was clear the whole group was hungry from growling stomachs. "We could get some-" "I'd like to go to that buffet." Well... That made finding somewhere to eat easier. She hadn't even seen which boy said it, but it was a voice she didn't recognize, so she guessed it was Chao Xin, he hadn't spoken yet today. Not loud enough for her to hear at least. "Okay, we can go there."

The five walked in and Hikaru paid using her credit card, the WBBA would have to pay for this, since it was their tour. Ryuusei probably wouldn't even notice it, he doesn't handle that stuff. The Chinese bladers had gone and grabbed plates, walking around the rows of food. The spread seemed to be an all around the world style. Everyone was mixing and matching their foods around the plate. "Hey, there's a table over there that we can fit at." This time Da Xiang was the one speaking, wearing a pleasant little smile as he pointed. He was the first to fill his plate and get to the table.

Next to join him was Hikaru, followed by Mei Mei and Chi-Yun, and finally, Chao Xin. Once the group sat down, a waitress came over to take their orders.

"Do you guys know what you would like to drink or do you need more time?" She smiled at them, waiting for the group to look at the menu. "I'll have a green tea." Hikaru was the first to order, always ordering that when she didn't want to waste anyone's time. It was nearly always on the menu. The other four took a few minutes before figuring out what they wanted, but they placed their orders and the waitress was gone again. Normally, you would sit and have your drinks ordered before you got food, but that wasn't really a rule they had to follow, or at least it didn't seem that way since no one minded the order they got their food. Who was really going to get mad at a bunch of young teens getting food because they're hungry?

Rather than speaking, the group began to eat their food quietly, all of them being famished. The Chinese representatives were probably hungry from traveling around and Hikaru hadn't even eaten breakfast when she saw the email. Their drinks were left at the table and Hikaru noticed the little amount of staff they had. Then again, the place didn't have a need for staff, it was all self run, you seated yourself, got your own food, and then left your plate on the table when you were done. All you waited for was the drinks. Paying staff probably all went into the cooks, with how much food was out on display. Hikaru couldn't help but wonder about the buffets business plan and how it the inner workings looked.

Being so distracted by her thoughts, Hikaru didn't even notice that the others at her table had started speaking. It wasn't really anything important, just everyone saying how they were enjoying the food and that Chao Xin had a good idea in picking to eat there. "Do you eat here often, Hikaru?" Mei Mei smiled at the older girl, easily catching her attention. "Well, not really to be honest. I don't go out much, I mainly stay home and cook for me and my dad. We're not exactly big on spending a lot of cash on going out to eat." She gave a polite smile back to the other girl. "What? But eating out is so much fun!" She beamed happily. "Um, I think you mean _going out to eat_..." Chi-Yun was the one to speak up, looking over at his teammate. Mei Mei clearly stopped to think for a moment. "No... I think what I said makes sense." She stilled smiled.

Hikaru could feel herself blushing lightly and glanced around the table to see the other two older boys' cheeks had gained a bit of color. Chi-Yun was probably used to correcting her, and it didn't really affect him, or he didn't care? Either one could work easily. "Y-yeah... The only reason I can really afford this now is because the Director sent me out here with you guys. Since it's work related, the WBBA takes care of it. I don't have to pay out of my pocket. We've actually been taking care of all the expenses, including plane tickets, and other means of traveling." She explained, hoping to get them back onto the subject of work.

The older boys seemed welcome to the new change in topic. "Really? That's awfully nice of the WBBA then. To take care of so many expenses." Da Xiang smiled, taking a sip of his drink. "You're the one behind most of this aren't you? Even in the video instructions we received, you seemed to do more talking than Ryo did." Hikaru blushed slightly, remembering recording each of the messages. The one to Gan Gan Galaxy had been the most distracted on the Directors part, but she still did the important speaking on the other ones. "Well, I just try to make sure that Ryo stays on track. He tends to get distracted in the heat of the moment, he's still a passionate blader after all."

For the rest of the meal, the conversation stayed fairly light, and near the end, they had all started talking to Hikaru about their beys. Of course Hikaru knew more than enough about each of them, having seen the battles they were in to be the representatives for China, but they didn't know that, and it was always nice to talk about something you love. When they finished eating, Hikaru piled the plates together and the five left, thanking their waitress on the way out. Paying first was a more convenient way to eat meals.

"What kind of bey do you use now, Hikaru? I saw the one you used before was Storm Aquario, but you haven't used it to battle very much." Mei Mei was at her side as they walked, they were on their way back to the WBBA now. It was getting late already as well. "To be honest, I don't really battle anymore. Just... Don't have the spirit for it like I used to." She admitted to the other girl, the boys were lagging behind them, since Hikaru was still leading the way. Mei Mei pouted slightly. "How could you not like to battle anymore? It's just such fun to face people who really challenge you." "I used to be that way too... Gingka actually helped me to realize that's what beyblading was all about. Having fun with your bey and facing people that made you stronger. But... It just stopped being fun." Hikaru's smile had faded away while they spoke.

Mei Mei stared at the other girl, her expression a cross between concern and confusion. "You mean that battle at Battle Bladers... That was the last time you battled?" Hikaru froze a bit, a pause in her step before she continued. "Yes. After that, I couldn't bring myself to use Aquario again. I didn't want her to end up hurt as well. I mean, I was hospitalized after that battle, knowing a bey could physically and mentally hurt me, I just couldn't do it anymore." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Arms wrapped around her gently from behind and she froze completely this time. She could feel the warmth from Mei Mei against her back. "Sorry for asking. You don't have to tell me any more, I won't ask." The words were light, Hikaru barely heard them from over her shoulder.

Seeing that something was up between the girls, the boys hung back, not wanting something awkward to happen. They would rather be awkward about the situation from a distance than walk over and be right there, doing nothing, feeling useless. The girls stayed standing there for about 3 minutes before Mei Mei let go and grabbed onto Hikaru's hand instead. Looking at the other, she saw silent tears on her cheeks and wiped them away with her free hand. "Come on, we don't want to get in trouble for being late." She smiled, pulling Hikaru along.

To her, everything seemed to happen quickly. Arms pulling her into a hug, an unknown amount of time passed in her head. It was so ridiculously comforting to have someone hold you and actually care that wasn't just your dad, or a friend who was too scared to even get so close. Mei Mei didn't even seem to care they just met, she understood what a simple hug could mean and didn't leave Hikaru feeling foolish for crying. Now she was leading her back to the WBBA.

The awkwardness gone, the boys caught up, staying a few feet behind the other two still, just in case. You never how people were, they could suddenly fall back into more emotional-ness any second! Now Mei Mei lead the group back to the WBBA. "Hey, how do we get to our hotel?" Chao Xin asked, looking around as they approached the building. "I think you guys will actually be staying here. We have a few rooms for staying in, and you guys will only be staying for one night. It's just a bit cheaper for us to not have to pay for another hotel." Hikaru explained, her voice still fairly mono-toned. The visiting team nodded as they walked inside, Hikaru took the lead once again and began to show the team one of the guest rooms.

Four beds were in the room as well as a tv, radio, and small bathroom. "Here you go. It's late already, but when the Director gets back he can speak to you guys about what will be happening later on. Sleep well." She smiled at the team as they waved her off. "Good night Hikaru!" Mei Mei called after her happily, even as the older girl walked down the hall.

Walking home seemed incredibly lonely now. She had spent most of her afternoon with 4 other people, walking around and showing them new things. Now? Now it was cold, lonely, and darker. Just not fun in the least. Hikaru let out a sigh as she grabbed her phone, checking the time. It was already 5, so her father would be home soon, they could have a small dinner together. That would be nice. As she walked along the still busy streets, she heard a familiar voice.

"Ha, yeah right. I've got a guaranteed spot in the tournament, I just don't wanna play for Japan." Kyouya? What was he doing out here? "Really? Why not for Japan then?" Who was that though? Hikaru looked over to see the green haired boy with a red head on his arm. "I want to be able to battle Gingka in the finals, can't do that if we're on the same team. I'll head back to Africa and play for them, I was born there after all." Hikaru could see him grinning proudly. Then they disappeared into a pizza place.

He was out, on a date, with a girl that Hikaru had never seen before. She couldn't help the tinge of jealousy that crawled up her spine. That jerk was really just dating some girl and none of them knew about it? How could he not tell his friends? How could he just date some chick and not even tell anyone? Ugh, boys were really just too stupid. Hikaru shook her head and hurried forward, wanting to get home even worse now.

* * *

I've had this chapter for... A while now. Honestly, over 2 weeks. I just didn't have an ending and I've been moving things all about, up and down, changing here and there. After talking to Phantom for a while and working out some more head canon, I found out where I wanted this chapter to go and how the NEXT chapter will go. Because I really am just making this I go along. Hoping for a happy ending.

Next chapter will actually focus on someone other than Hikaru, just for a cameo though! I really need to show Kyouya and get some of my head canon for him out there now, so look forward to that!


	4. IMPORTANT: Message to readers

Hey guys, for those of you out there reading this story, enjoying and following, I'm going to be deleting it soon.  
Not deleting it completely from the website forever, but I will be revamping everything. I didn't really think out all the timeline stuff and more of the consequences that both Hikaru and Ryuuga face, and why Ryuuga is facing nothing for his crime. So I've rethought that a lot these past few days and began to do deeper research into characters.  
I'm just going to be rewriting things, so the story will be very different from what you know or remember. For the most part it will be the same, but I really need to fix it. I'm going to be going back through the files and cutting/adding as well as fixing what's wrong with the timeline.  
I wasn't sure when I started, I was kind of just winging it, but now I want it to be the start of the tournament for Japan's reps, right as they start the battle. So it'll be a lot of fixing. Everywhere. Since I reference things further ahead and with the other teams. Though team Wang Fu Xiong are still gonna be there to visit Japan and stay at the WBBA for a night because... I really like them and want them to chill in Japan with the group for a while. Yes.  
So the story will be a lot of rewrites but when it's back, you can expect a Kyouya centered chapter, to make up for the whole mixing up and everything...  
I'd actually delete the story entirely and reupload it, but then I'm worried that I won't be able to use the same title since it was already up? So you get the chapters being taken down and put back up. I'll probably delete the reviews as well... Sorry, I love the reviews (and I'll have them saved on my own computer because I'm weird that way) but I'd like to have them fresh for the updated chapters.

Again, sorry for any inconvience this causes you guys, but the chapters should be up and back to normal over the next few days. I have a lot to work out, but I'll try to update weekly. Like, every Saturday or something. Probably Saturday afternoon's.


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